German police hunt 12,000 strong child abuse ring

German investigators are attempting to identifying participants in a massive online child sex abuse network reckoned to have involved 12,000 people.

The investigation into what's thought to be the largest such network centered on Germany has also identified suspects in approximately 70 other countries. The suspects include 300 men from the eastern German state of Sachsen-Anhalt. The investigation, which began some months ago, began with a tip-off from an unidentified Berlin ISP, which identified suspicious traffic flowing through its network.

"The material was analysed. Then we called for search warrants," Peter Vogt, head of the central office tackling child internet sex abuse told German radio station Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), the BBC reports.

Further details of the inquiry, including what arrests (if any) have been made so far, remain sketchy. ®